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To me, "easy to fly" has two components:

1) Stability in flight and on the ground. Most production airplanes have positive static and dynamic stability: if displaced they tend to return to the trimmed state after a couple of oscillations diminishing in amplitude. The 172 and taper-wing PA28s are pretty good at this. The early "Hershey-Bar Wing" series of PA28 with a constant width span have a tendency to fall out of the sky at very low speeds in the landing regime-- not dangerously so, but if you have never flown one it can be a surprise.

Ground handling, would have to go with the PA28s, the wide gear spacing and forgiving stroke are pretty tolerant of small misalignments. Which is not to say you should be sloppy, it's only to say that it takes time and experience to develop proficiency.

I owned a Citabria which was a very forgiving taildragger, I found the ground handling and visibility to be fine-- contrast this with something like a Cessna 195 where you are constantly S-turning to see where you are going. Again, with time comes proficiency.

2. Ergonomics. Old airplanes often have a gauge stack that does not follow the "six-pack" configuration of ASI AI ALT on the top and TC, DG VSI at the bottom. They fly just fine, but for serious instrument work many people prefer the modern configuration. Also, with the advent of "Glass Cockpits" in the GA community, the opportunity for GREATLY enhanced situational awareness is present-- and that makes a BIG difference and can mean the difference between survival and not if you push the weather and fuel in defiance of good judgment as stated above.

So, what does that mean? Get a late-model 172 with the Garmin glass cockpit and have fun.